Page 93 of Blackstone's Heart
Krista sat down her lipstick and faced him, her eyes a little wide at his statement. "What?"
"Kids, do you want them?"
"Okay, where's this coming from Ethan?" She asked with a perplexed look.
Ethan sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Baby, the last few weeks since you and I came back together I've been thinking. Thinking about things I thought I never wanted."
Krista moved to him. "Like marriage? And kids apparently."
"Yeah."
Krista cupped his face. "Ethan, do YOU want kids? I know you asked me, but you should be asking yourself that question first."
Ethan gripped her wrists as she held his face. "I used to think I didn't want kids, but now I do. I want kids, Krista and I want them with you."
"Well, how many would you like?" She asked with a brilliant smile.
"At least two." He answered, his smile echoing hers.
Krista leaned in and kissed him gently, yet the passion was simmering just under the surface. Ethan pulled her closer, his heart swelling at this amazing woman who stole his heart when they were kids and stole it again now. She was his world. It was Krista who pulled away slowly. Her blue eyes shining with love.
"When do you want me to go off my birth control?"
"How soon do you want to start trying?"
Krista laughed a little. "Since you put it that way."
She made a big production of grabbing the remaining pills she took and dropped them into the wastebasket. Ethan threw his head back and laughed. Yes, they were a perfect fit. They both were on the same chapter, same page, same sentence, same word. He gave her one last kiss before walking out of the bathroom to let her finish getting ready and made his way downstairs to make coffee.
***
Ethan met his guys in the large room that was now set up for Krista's book release. The almost dozen or so tables, all of them would hold about twelve people, were covered in blue, green and white tablecloths. The center pieces were glass vases with sprigs of pine, bluebonnets and Indian paint brushes. He had to admit, the whole place looked fitting for Krista's big day.
"Hey boss." Gage greeted.
"Is everything set?" Ethan asked, slipping into work mode.
Grant nodded. "Bravo team is on the perimeter and they say everything is clear. The fans and press are already arriving and they're checking the ID's of the press. Ms. Carlin says the fans will have personalized invitations and our guys are checking those too. Wilson and his group should be here any minute, the same goes with the Feds."
"The fire team is already here and in place." Tony added.
"Good. Krista says her VIP group will be the first people allowed inside. That should be in about ten minutes. Lance, you're with me and we'll escort them back to Krista and Stacey. We will then escort them back out here, and then we'll start letting people in." Ethan instructed.
Wilson and Ingram chose that moment to walk in with their fellow police officers. Ethan approached Wilson and the two men shook hands. He then shook hands with Ingram. "How's the family? Wilson said you had to take some time off to care for your wife."
Ingram smiled a little. "Oh she's fine now. Just a bout with pneumonia. It was touch and go, thought I was gonna have to take her to the hospital. But she's all better now."
Ethan suddenly felt a shiver run up his spine. His “Spidey” sense was screaming at him now. Yet he couldn't understand why. He tried to quell the feelings, but it didn't work. His whole body was tingling with electricity. Almost as if he were standing near a downed powerline. He looked to his left and caught Gage studying him. The two men had known and worked with each other the longest of their team and there were times, like now, when Gage would just know something was up.
Without a word, Ethan and Gage slipped off to a secluded corner while the rest of the team gave Wilson and his men their orders. "What is it Ethan?"
"Christ, I can't explain it Gage. When I shook Ingram's hand and he smiled at me..." Ethan took a deep breath, then continued. "It was like, something just came over me. My gut's screaming right now that something's not right. That and his smile when I mentioned his wife. Fuck, it was glacial."
Gage frowned. "What do you want to do?"
"I don't know. We can't cancel this thing now. I want you, me and Lance to stay as close to Krista as possible. This fucker's going to make his move today. I know that much."
"Alright. You said this started with Ingram?"
